Real estate is an experience. Not an industry.
How a potato peeler helped inspire our (re)brand adventure.
I’ve spent the last ten years running property websites across the world. From Cape Town to Bogota, Bangkok to Barcelona, all of these real estate platforms do an awesome job of connecting homeseekers to the information they need to make better decisions. I’ve seen firsthand how access to data, listings and professionals can build people's confidence and enthusiasm for an otherwise challenging process.
On the flip side, I’ve also been party to countless consumer surveys and informal conversations about the lack of trust ordinary people have in the real estate industry - and some of its legacy players. “The Industry” has become synonymous with bureaucracies and insider structures that turn people off the process of buying a property before they’ve even set out.
It’s such a unique position that we find ourselves in. We sit at the nexus of online experience, the so-called “Industry” and people’s dreams of owning a home.
And this is what makes platforms like REW so powerful.
“Surely we could be so much more than just a website?” we asked ourselves. After all, real estate isn’t actually about property. It’s about people - normal human beings doing something tough. We could help guide these people. We could actually shape not only the way they found their next homes, but also how they felt about it once all was said and done.
So we set out to redefine the role and mission for REW. And that began with a simple reframing of the problem we were trying to solve:
We thought we were helping to build a better real estate industry. What we should have been doing was building a better real estate experience.
We had to go beyond constructing a great website, and begin forging a great brand. One that represented the type of experience people would like to engage with; that they would perhaps start to love and, one day, eventually begin to trust.
We had to find the point where empathy and utility meet.
This kicked off an epic process of discovery at REW. We looked at what's wrong with today's process of buying a home. We spoke to some amazing people who have used our tools to find their homes. We swopped stories with real estate pros who have worked with us for years. And we were introduced to the OXO Good Grips Potato Peeler, a kitchen tool originally designed for an arthritis sufferer that now finds its home in the Museum of Modern Art.
(Take a moment to read this incredible story of utility and empathy here. We think you’ll find as much worth in its lessons as we did.)
YouTube: OXO Brand Video
We reflected on the things we’ve already done, good and bad. And we finally formed an idea of what we stand for:
We believe that homeseekers matter. That their experience matters. And that REW is here to be the ultimate guide for each of their real estate adventures.
Whatever your personal real estate journey may hold, we’ll be there through the ups and downs, equipping you with the knowledge and inspiration you need to make the most of one of life’s great adventures.
Yours in adventure,
Simon
Simon Bray
President ・ REW
